Manufacture of puddled iron



Patented Apr. 14, 1925.

UNITED STATES v 1,533,819 PATENT oFFicE.

ROLLIN C. STEE'SE, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO.v

MANUFACTURE on IP'UDDLED IRON.

No Drawing". Application filedJuly 10,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROLLIN C. Srnnsn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Youngstown, county ofMahoning, Stateof Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Manufacture of P'uddled Iron, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of puddled or wrought iron, and more particularly to a process ofme'chanical puddling. g

In the manufacture of puddled iron, whether by hand or mechanical means, it is a characteristic of the process that as the iron comes to nature it will stick together in a mass which, in most cases, is then manipulated to form what is known as apuddle ball. At the time of the formation of this ball there are reactions still going on between the metal and slag contained therein that require heat and time to complete in order to produce a good quality of Wrought iron.

In the hand puddling process, as universally practiced today, due to the small sized puddle ball produced and the length of time necessary for building up or forming the ball, the time that this ball must remain in the furnace to allow for the thorough completion of the reactions before Withdrawal is not a serious matter as far as the output per day per furnace is concerned. However, in the case of puddling by mechanical means, Where it is desirable to puddle more metal per heat than in the hand puddling process, making much larger socalled, balls, the tune and heat necessary to thoroughly complete the operation after the iron comes to nature and sticks together coustitutes a serious handicap so far as tonnage is concerned and produces furnace conditions that are detrimental to the satisfactory handling of the succeeding heat. In order to correct this condition and produce -a uniform high grade product, I propose to re move the mass containing the iron and slag from the furnace in which it was made prior to the completion of all of the reactions between the iron and slag and place it in a separate heating furnace. Preferably the mass will be balled in the puddling furnace and then innnediately removed therefrom. It can thereafter be subjected in the heating furnace to further heat treatment to complete the necessary reactions. The mass or ball may then be removed from the heat- 1924. Serial No. 725,170.

ing furnace and subjected to squeezing or a pressing in order to remove the slag therefrom.

By employing this new process in lieu of the usual mechanical puddling process the tonnage output per day of a puddling furnace can be greatly increased. In the usual mechanical puddling process, after the mass is balledup it isnecessary,'in order to produce a uniform high grade product, for it to remain in the puddling furnace a relatively long time, depending upon the size of the heat, to permit the completion of the reactions between the iron and slag. By this new process this time is saved and the furnace can be utilized immediately for a new heat. Furthermore, by removing the puddle ball from the puddling furnace before the reactions are completed, the temperature of the furnace can be kept under better control.

WVhile the present invention is of peculiar advantage in the mechanical puddling of iron, it is not limited in its application to mechanical puddling, but may be utilized with advantage in hand puddling. Fur thermore, the invention, in its broader aspects, is not limited to immediately transferring the mass from the puddling furnace to the heating furnace as said mass may be removed from the, puddling furnace and subjected to some intermediate operation, such as shaping the mass or dividing it into smaller portions to facilitate the heating or the handling thereof, before being placed in the heating furnace. Preferably, l1ow ever,'the mass will be removed from the puddling furnace and placed in the heating furnace without subjecting it to any intermediate operation which will remove therefrom any substantial part of the slag. Also the mass may be allowed to partially or wholly cool down after removal fro-m the puddling furnace and allowed to remain in that state for an indefinite time before be ing placed in the heating furnace for the completion of the reactions.

I claim:

1. The process of manufacturing puddled or wrought iron, comprising removing the puddle ball from the puddling furnace, and thereafter placingsaid ball in a separate heating furnace and subjecting it therein ,to further heat treatment, substantially as described.

2. The process of manufacturing puddled or Wrought iron, comprising removing the puddle ball from the puddling furnace before the completion of the reactions between the [iron and slag, and thereafter placing said ball in a separate heating furnace prior to the removal therefrom of any "substantial part of the slag and subjecting it in the heating furnace to further heat treatment in order to complete said react-ions, substantially as described.

3. The p'rocessofmanufacturing puddled or Wrought iron, comprising removing the puddle ball from the puddling furnace prior to the completion of the reactions between the iron and slag and placing it in a separate heating furnaceyand allowing said ball to remain in said separatefurnace "until'the necessary reactions are completed, substantially as described.

4. The process of manufacturingfpuddled or Wrought iron, comprising re1novingthe puddle ball from the puddling furnace prior to the completion of the reactions between the iron and slag, placing said ball in a separate heating furnace and subjecting it therein to further heat treatment in order to completesuch reactions, removing said ball from the heating furnace, and subjecting it to squeezing or pressing, substantially as described.

'5. The processof manufacturing puddled or wrought iron, comprising removing the puddle'ball from the puddling furnace prior tothe completion oft-he reaction between the iron and slag, shaping or dividing the ballf' and thereafter placing it in 'a'separate heat ing furnace and subjecting ittherein to further heat treatment in 1 order to complete :said reactions, substantially as described.

In test-im'o'nyivhereof I have hereunto set my hand. I

ROLLIN CQSTEESE. 

